1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an attachment for a front-end loader, and, more particularly, is directed to an attachment device which can be readily connected and disconnected to the bucket of a front-end loader in thereby converting the bucket loader for other uses.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A front-end loader, often referred to as a bucket loader, is a widely used, commonly known piece of equipment found in many commercial and industrial applications, such as in construction and excavating operations, as well as in many agricultural applications, such as in farming and livestock operations. Bucket loaders are of various sizes and configurations, but basically include a prime mover, such as a tractor or the like, having a pair of pivotally supported lift arms that are hydraulically driven to raise and lower a bucket attached to the ends of the lift arms. Normally, a hydraulic cylinder is also used to pivot the bucket about a horizontal axis so as to move the bucket from a load receiving to a load discharging position, and vice versa. The primary use or function of a bucket loader is to transfer bulk materials, such as sand, gravel, earth, manure, etc., from one location to another. For example, bucket loaders are used in livestock operations for scooping manure from the livestock pens and loading same on a spreader, while in construction operations a bucket loader is used to load gravel from a pile onto a dump truck.
Due to the large investment of a bucket loader and for convenient reasons, it has been common practice to convert bucket loaders to perform operations other than the transferring of bulk materials. This practice adds versatility to the loader and thereby eliminates the need and associated costs for using separate pieces of equipment or tools to perform these separately desired operations.
One example of such a converted use of a bucket loader is illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 3,249,245 (Foster) wherein there is shown a converter unit that attaches to the bucket of the loader in thereby providing an auxiliary tongue or hitch for towing machinery from the front of the bucket loader. The Foster converter unit includes a rigid, forwardly projecting, beam which has its rear end pinned to the rear wall of the bucket and with its forward end being supported above the floor of the bucket by a vertical column and a pair of diagonal support members. The lower end of the column and the support members are provided with slotted brackets that engage fore-and-aft extending fork tines which are disposed adjacent the floor of the bucket. The cooperation of the slotted brackets in engagement with the fork tines in conjunction with the pin connection of the beam to the rear wall provide the necessary attachment for supporting the converter unit on the bucket.
Another type of bucket loader converter can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,887 (De Carli). Shown is a converter unit that converts the bucket loader from a bulk material handling device to a boom structure device adapted to raise and lower construction pipe into a drainage trench. This converter device is similar to the one shown in the above Foster 3,249,245 patent being comprised of a rigid beam which is attached to the rear wall of the bucket by a pin and which further includes two forwardly projecting support members secured to the forward end of the rigid beam with lower ends that are slotted or so shaped to receive therebetween the floor of the bucket. Again, the pin connection of the rigid beam to the rear wall along with the slotted engagement of the support members with the floor provide the necessary attachment of the converter unit on the bucket.
Although not necessarily limited thereto, the converter units set forth in both the Foster 3,249,245 and DeCarli 3,587,887 patents are examples of bucket loader converters typically found in commercial industrial applications.
Another area where bucket loader conversion units are commonly found is in farming and livestock operations. With the recent advent and enormous popularity of the round bales, the need by farmers and livestock operators for a specific tool to handle and transport these large round bales produced by the round baler was created. In response to this need, several different types of round bale handling machines and devices were introduced into the market place. Some of these large round bale handlers are large, bulky, complex and expensive machines capable of transporting several large round bales at one time, whereas, other bale handlers are more simple in structure, being less costly, and usually transport only one large round bale at a time. Generally, these latter bale handlers cooperate or work in conjunction with another piece of machinery or tool which the farmer or livestock operator already has on his farm, such as a pick-up truck, a tractor, a front-end or bucket loader.
One example of such a large round bale handler can be seen in the Cox patents (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,015,739 and 4,099,629). Cox's bale handler is of the type which operates in conjunction or combination with the three-point hitch of a farm tractor or can be operated on the bed of a pick-up truck. U.S. Pat. No. 4,179,034 shows another type of round bale handler that is designed to be used in combination with a pick-up truck.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,404 is illustrative of still another type of round bale handler. Shown is an attachment structure having three spear-shaped bale engaging prongs and which is designed to be attached either to the three-point hitch of a tractor or to a front-end loader that is mounted on the tractor. For attaching the bale handling device to the front-end loader, the bucket must first be removed and then the bale handler attaches to the lift or boom arms of the loader.
Yet another type of round bale handler is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,921,837. The round bale handler shown here is adapted for assembly with the bucket of the loader and basically includes a pair of forks that are attached by brackets to the sidewalls of the bucket.
The above-described commercial and agricultural bucket loader conversion units or attachments all suffer from various shortcomings. Although some of these conversion attachments have advantages over other ones and certain ones have specific disadvantages, it can be concluded that there exists a need for an improved bucket loader conversion attachment which can easily and quickly be connected to and disconnected from the bucket loader without first removing the bucket so as to readily convert the bucket loader for other uses. The uses may include, but are not limited to, the handling of large bales, the maneuvering of drainage pipe or the like in a construction operation, or the moving of equipment from one location to another as is customarily performed by a machinery dealer that moves his machinery about the machinery lot for one reason or another.